Dispensing can



A. W. MURRAYV DISPENSING CAN. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1. 192p.

1A@%,883, 1 Patented Jan. 31, 1922.,

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' W. MURRAY, OF WELLESLEY HILLS, MASSACHUSETTS.

nisrnnsme can.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 31, 11922..

Application filed June 1, 1920. Serial No. 385,518.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER W. MUR- RAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVellesley Hills, in the county of Norlarly to so construct an automatically operable closure device that it may be conveniently manipulated to discharge its contents by means of the thumb or finger of the.

same hand by which the user holds the body of the can.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out particularly hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in'the various features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangements of parts exemplified by the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated by the appended claims.

In the drawings,'wherein is shown one of various possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the improved container top and closure cap.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan of the same.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings there is indicated at 1 a container body, fitted over which and adapted to be sealed in position, if desired, is a container top 2. The latter is formed with a reduced discharge spout 3 having an end- 3' which closes the spout except for a plurality of perforations, the purposes of which will be set forth hereinafter.

A closure cap 4 is loosely mounted over the discharge spout 3. This cap has a side wall 5 which is crimped orspun into a neck 6 of the spout, the association of the cap and spout being such that free relative-rotation is-permitted but longitudinal displacement prevented. Through a central perforation 7 in the top of the spout there projects a pin I 8, secured'to the cap 4, which serves as a reinforclng and positioning device for an ac tuatmg spring 10 .and which extends well into the throat of the spout. One end 11 of the spring 10 is secured to the delivery top 2 and the other end 12 bears against a pin 13 pro ect1ng inwardly from the cap 4 through a circumferential slot 14 in the top wall of the spout.

Under the influence of the spring 10 the cap is normally held with a perforation 15 thereln out of registration with a correspondingperforation 16 in the top wall of the spout. The end of the slot 14 limits the relative movement of the parts to their positlons out of registration.

To deliver the contents of the'can the user may grasp the can body with the hand, invert it to desired position and manipulate an operating piece 20 with the finger or thumb of the same hand. The piece 20 is fixed upon, or a portion of, the closure cap 4 and the opposite end of the circumferential slot 14 serves to stop further relative rotation between the cap and spout when the position of exact registration has been reached. When a suitable quantity of the powder or other material has been delivered, as by slightly shaking the can, the user releases the finger piece 20 and the spring restores the parts to. normal position immediately.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and as many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention might be made without departing from the scope thereof; it is intended that all matter contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not 1n a limiting sense.

Having described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A can having in combination a perforated delivery top, a closure cap, fitted exteriorly thereof, having its lower portion "pressed into an annular necked-in portion of said top, a pin secured to said capand extending into the neck of said top, a helical spring surrounding said pin, a slot in said top, and a member projecting from said cap through said slot, one end of said'spring being' fixed to the top and the other end bearing against said projection to urge the cap rotatively until the projection brings up against one end of said slot; the top and cap being perforated in rotative alignment so that rotation of said cap will cause registration and the spring will return said cap to a position of nonregistration.

2. A can, comprising a top with a delivery spout having three perforations, a closure cap having a central pin projecting through one of said perforations, said cap being loosely fitted around said spout to hold it for rotation on the latter, a perforation in said cap adapted to be moved into and out of registration with another of said spout perforations, means on said cap co-op'erative with the edge of said third perforation to limit the relative rotative movement of said cap and spout, and a spring cooperative with said spout and the last said means to hold said registrable perforationsnormally out of registration.

3. A can, comprising a top with a delivery spout having three perforations, a closure cap having a central pin projecting through one of said perforations, said cap being loosely fitted around said spout to hold it for rotation on the latter, a perforation in said cap adapted to be moved into and out of registration with another of said spout perforations, means on said cap co-operative with the edge of said third "perforation to limit the relative rotative movement of said cap and 'spout a spring co-operative with said spout, and the last said means to hold said registrable perforations normallyout of registration, and a finger operated mem-' ber on said cap whereby the cap niay be rotated temporarily against the action of said spring to register the perforations, said spring serving to return the parts to nor-- mal p )sitions when the finger operated member is released. ALEXANDER W. MURRAY. 

